It’s been a long road back to action for Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, but it looks like he could be making a return to the Blackhawks’ lineup soon.
Crawford suffered his second concussion in the last two seasons on December 18 when he hit his head against a goalpost on December 18 of 2018, but now he’s back at practice with few restrictions. According to the Chicago Times, Chicago allowed Crawford to play freely in practice as players were only instructed to simply not “run him over.” Some hockey fans expected the 34-year-old to potentially announce his retirement but NBCSChicago's Charlie Roumeliotis reported that Crawford hadn’t even contemplated it while sidelined.
Crawford’s first concussion came in December of 2017 and cost him the remaining 47 games of the season. As eager as he is to get back into the crease, the Canadian acknowledged that it might not happen so quickly. Goaltenders Collin Delia and Cam Ward have managed to lead the Hawks to a seven game winning streak and have allowed just 20 goals over that stretch.
A second round pick in the 2003 draft, Crawford has accumulated a 236-138-47 record since the 2005-06 season. Regardless if he were to play or not, he’ll always be regarded as a hero in the city for helping lead the team to two Stanley Cups in 2013 and 2015.
(H/T Chicago Sun Times)
